Privacy Policy

Helderberg Classifieds is a local buy-and-sell marketplace for Somerset West, Strand, Gordon's Bay and the surrounding Helderberg area. We are the responsible party for the personal information described here, as defined in South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).

• Account details — email address, display name, and optionally an avatar, short bio, town and contact number you choose to add.
• Listing content — titles, descriptions, photos, prices, categories and towns you enter when posting an ad.
• Messages — the enquiries and replies you exchange with other members through the on-site inbox.
• Ratings and reviews — reviews you leave for other members and reviews left about you.
• Payment records — for paid upgrades (Featured, Bump, Spotlight) we store the payment reference, amount, currency and status returned by our payment provider. We never see or store your full card number.
• Feedback you give us — thumbs up/down and the notes you write when a suggested draft or price range misses the mark.
• Technical data — basic log and device information needed to keep you signed in, prevent abuse and fix errors.

• To publish your ads and show them to buyers in the Helderberg.
• To deliver messages between buyers and sellers.
• To review ads before they go live and to act on reports of abuse or scams.
• To process paid upgrades, issue receipts and handle refund requests.
• To send service emails such as ad approvals, status changes and receipts.
• To improve the suggestions described in the next section.
• To keep the platform secure and comply with our legal obligations.

When you use the optional helpers while posting an ad, we use only the following: the photos you upload for that ad, any hint you type, and the title, category, town and price on that draft. These are compared against recent approved public listings — the same ads any visitor can already browse.

We do not use your private messages, phone number, email address, payment details, other members' unapproved drafts, or anything from your device beyond the photos you choose.

Suggestions are generated with the help of an automated model and are always just suggestions: nothing is published until you tap Publish, and every field stays editable. When you rate a suggestion and tell us what should change, that note is stored against your account and used to shape your future suggestions. You can skip the helpers entirely and write your ad yourself.

Your display name, avatar, town, reputation badge, ratings and the content of your live ads are public. Your email address is never shown on your listings. Anything you type into an ad description or a photo is visible to everyone, so avoid including ID numbers, banking details or your home address.

We share personal information only with service providers who help us run the site:

• Our cloud backend and hosting provider (database, file storage, authentication).
• Paystack, our payment provider, for upgrade payments and refunds in ZAR.
• Our email delivery provider, for approval notices, receipts and account emails.
• The provider of the automated model behind ad drafts and price suggestions.

We may also disclose information where the law requires it, or to protect members from fraud and harm. We do not sell your personal information.

We use essential cookies and local storage to keep you signed in and remember your preferences. Full detail is in our Cookie Policy.

Ads and messages stay while your account is active. Payment and receipt records are kept for as long as tax and accounting rules require. When you delete your account we remove your profile and listings; anonymised records that we must keep for legal or fraud prevention reasons may remain.

Data is stored with an established cloud provider and access is restricted with row-level database rules so members can only reach their own records. Administrator access is limited and protected by additional verification. No online service can promise perfect security, so please use a strong, unique password and report anything suspicious to us.

• See and correct your profile and ads at any time from your dashboard.
• Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Request deletion of your account and its content.
• Object to a particular use of your information.
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe we have handled your information unlawfully.

Helderberg Classifieds is intended for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a minor has created an account, please report it and we will remove it.

We update this policy when the way we handle information changes. The date at the top of this page always shows the latest version, and material changes will be highlighted on the site.

For privacy questions, data requests or deletion, message us through the Safety Centre or reply to any Helderberg Classifieds email. You can also read our Terms of Use.